A 16-month-old baby dies at Lenoir Daycare and her grieving mother is demanding answers after her daughter reportedly went into cardiac arrest at a North Carolina daycare on Monday afternoon.
According to Lenoir Police, first responders arrived at Creative Beginnings of Lenoir just before 3 p.m. on May 19 in response to a 911 call about an unresponsive child.
Paramedics found 16-month-old Maddy unresponsive and immediately began life-saving measures. Sadly, Maddy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Mother Speaks Out on Facebook: “Y’all Failed My Baby” – Baby Dies at Lenoir Daycare
The child’s mother, Angel Dawn, has taken to social media to express her heartbreak—and her outrage.
In a series of emotional posts, Dawn questioned how her daughter could have been left unmonitored for so long. She revealed that daycare director Sarah, who performed CPR on Maddy, told her that the toddler was laid down for a nap at 12:00 p.m. and was asleep by 12:15. Maddy was not discovered unresponsive until 2:35 p.m.—over two hours later.
Even more concerning: the call to 911 wasn’t placed until 2:42 p.m., a seven-minute delay that has left the family furious and the community demanding transparency.
“Even if this was SIDS, how could they let our baby lay there for hours?” Dawn wrote. “Why didn’t they check to see if she was still breathing?”
Substitute Teacher Unable to Perform CPR
At the time of the incident, Maddy’s regular teacher was on a lunch break and a substitute teacher was overseeing the classroom, according to Dawn. That teacher reportedly panicked and was unable to perform CPR, instead running to get Sarah, who then administered CPR until help arrived.
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State inspection records show that not all staff were CPR-certified as recently as August 2024.
Police & Medical Examiner Investigating
The Lenoir Police Department and North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the cause of death and the timeline leading up to it. The daycare says it is cooperating fully with authorities.
In a public Facebook post, Creative Beginnings wrote:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our sweet little angels… Our hearts are broken.”
GoFundMe Launched for Baby Maddy
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses. Click here to support.
